The Southwest, including Southern Nevada, has a significant amount of Native American Petroglyph / Rock Art Sites. Our web site will concentrate on the rock art of Southern Nevada which extends back over 1500 years, and was typically created by either the Paiute, Shoshone, Chemehuevi, or the Anasazi people.

Preservation through Education

We believe that rock art on public lands does not - and should not - belong to just a few select people or groups. However, due to the fragile nature of many rock art sites, it is not realistic to have a large number of people visiting most of them. What we are attempting to do with our website is to provide visual access where those with the interest or the curiosity can go to see and appreciate a small piece of Native American history. Our beliefs are that by educating people to the historical significance of the rock art, people will be more inclined to respect, and preserve, the sites for the enjoyment of everyone for a long, long time.

Bird Springs Range 3

One of the many trails that once ran through what is now known as the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada, followed the seeps and springs from Las Vegas through the Bird Spring Range and eventually joined other trails to end up at the Colorado River or in California or Arizona.

Trails in the southwest would normally try to follow the seeps and springs as much as possible to be able to supply the needed water, a place to camp, and food from the plants and animals that lived near and around the springs. One of the major springs along this route is known as Bird Springs, and at one time it was supplying up to 50 barrels of water per day.

Some of the earliest known users of Bird Springs were the Anasazi followed by the Paiute and the Shoshone, and then came the Spanish and finally the white explorers. After the explorers came the settlers, and with the settlers came wagons and stage lines, and the Indians were forced out. Once the settlers realized that life at Bird Springs was too difficult, they left and the Paiutes could return.